The National Horse Show Association of America is pleased to announce the dates and locations for this year's ASPCA Maclay Regional competitions. The horse shows' qualifying classes determine which riders will compete in this year's ASPCA Maclay National Championship, which will be held at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament, featuring the 125th National Horse Show. The show will run from October 29-November 2, 2008, at the Oncenter Complex in Syracuse, NY. The ASPCA Maclay...

Lexington, KY – The Varsity Equestrian National Championships (VENC) announced the collegiate teams that have been selected and seeded for this year’s competition, in conjunction with the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). A total of twelve schools were chosen for both the hunter seat and Western divisions to compete at the National Championships. The selected teams will compete April 17-19 in Waco, Texas at the Heart O’ Texas Fair...

Lexington, KY— The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has established a goal of providing more accessible applicant clinic sessions to be held during the 2008 competition year for individuals interested in becoming a licensed steward with the Federation. Two applicant sessions will accompany the continuing education clinic for Category 1 and Category 2 stewards. The remaining applicant sessions will be one-day each and will be held in differing geographic areas as listed: March 27-30,...

Lexington, KY- The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Executive Committee has approved the dates and locations for the following 2008 USEF Hunter National Championships. • The 2008 USEF Pony Finals National Championships will be August 13–17 in Lexington, KY. Five championships will make up Pony Finals, including the Adequan®/USEF National Pony Jumper Championship (Individual); the Adequan®/USEF National Pony Jumper Championship (Team); Wild Horsefeathers/USEF National Green Hunter Pony...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association and American Saddlebred Registry, which will conduct their annual convention this week in Lexington, KY, announced audited results for the year ending December 31, 2007. Prize program revenue increased a robust 15.1% to $610,375, well up from the previous year’s mark of $530,155. On a combined basis, 2007 net income for the two corporations was the second highest in history, at $175,982, dipping 9.4% from the previous year’s all-time high of $194,166,...

The American Horse Council (AHC) reports that the recently passed Senate Farm Bill includes several key provisions that would benefit the horse industry. The $286 billion bill, which passed the Senate on December 14 by a vote of 79 to 14, now includes the Equine Equity Act. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) offered this bill as an amendment to the Farm Bill, and it was accepted without objection. This provision would: (1) shorten the capital gains holding period for horses from 24 months to 12...

LEXINGTON, KY— National Diversity Solutions (NDS) has been selected to manage the supplier recruitment, registration and qualification process for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. "The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games represent a tremendous opportunity for our state and the Central Kentucky region," said D. Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer for National Diversity Solutions, which is a Lexington, KY-based certified minority owned business. "We are honored to be selected as a...

With Grande Gil’s win at the American Royal in November, the five-year-old gelding has claimed the first American Saddlebred Triple Crown since 2004, sweeping the three-gaited open championships at Lexington Junior League, Kentucky State Fair and American Royal—the three shows which comprise the Saddlebred Triple Crown. The last Saddlebred to accomplish the feat in three-gaited was CH An Heir About Her in 2004. That same year, CH Boucheron took top honors at each of the Saddlebred Triple...

Photo by Howard Schatzberg (Brittany McGinnis and Amandari) Lexington, KY – Brittany McGinnis of Fishers, IN, riding American Saddlebred Amandari, was crowned champion of the 2007 United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Saddle Seat Medal Final, held November 17, as part of the United Professional Horsemen’s Association American Royal National Championship Horse Show in Kansas City, MO. McGinnis topped the class of 24 entries in the two-phase competition that required both rail...

Lexington, KY – Plans are under way for the 2008 United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Youth Convention, and registration is open, but space is limited for the convention. Already over half of the available spots have been filled for the first annual Youth Convention, which will be held January 12 in Louisville, KY. The Youth Convention will feature many notable speakers including experts in the equine industry as well as spokespersons from equine-related careers. This one-day convention...